Slow growth with SPS

[HereWeGoAgain]

those fish look way too big for that tank

I have to agree, fish are too big/too many or the other way to say it is tank is too small. You now have permission to upgrade! haha

 

[FlyinBryan]

I was able to greatly growth when I added Kalk to my ato. All of my tanks run it and it just seems to keep everything in check and balanced.
I'm no expert but ph might be a bit low, I have great success with anything over 8.1. Kalk and the right fuge light can help with that.
Also, what does your filtration look like?
I agree with previous poster, I'd also run gfo.
My tank was way behind where nothing grew until I got those 3 on inline.
Great tank! And good luck!

 

[Montiman]

I was able to greatly growth when I added Kalk to my ato. All of my tanks run it and it just seems to keep everything in check and balanced.
I'm no expert but ph might be a bit low, I have great success with anything over 8.1. Kalk and the right fuge light can help with that.
Also, what does your filtration look like?
I agree with previous poster, I'd also run gfo.
My tank was way behind where nothing grew until I got those 3 on inline.
Great tank! And good luck!

I already use kalk in a reactor. If I dose any more the alk starts to climb I am going to try a co2 scrubber and see if that helps

 

[Montiman]

I have now been using inland seas biotrace an all in one amino acid and trace element solution that is manufactured by a small company in my area for about a week. The product is being discontinued but I spoke to the original creator and he described to me the science he went through developing it and he gave me 2 bottles to try. I am already getting better growth. I have been looking for an alternative now that it is going away and I was directed to aqua vitro fuel which has a similar recipe. I will run the biotrace for now and switch to fuel once I run out.

 

[Montiman]

Some pics of the SPS I am seeing some whitish tips showing growth.

 

[Cory]

Some pics of the SPS I am seeing some whitish tips showing growth.

Looks good! Any updates? Have you still solved the slow growth problem?

 

[Montiman]

Looks good! Any updates? Have you still solved the slow growth problem?

Tank has moved since then and now into a XXL750 Reefer. I have realized that my tank of 7 years just grew coral faster than a new tank. My tank is less than a year old now and I trimmed back all the SPS to frags hoping they would regrow. Currently really disappointed with the growth rate but I have learned my lesson before that it seems to take a couple years for maturity to speed up growth.

 

[Cory]

Tank has moved since then and now into a XXL750 Reefer. I have realized that my tank of 7 years just grew coral faster than a new tank. My tank is less than a year old now and I trimmed back all the SPS to frags hoping they would regrow. Currently really disappointed with the growth rate but I have learned my lesson before that it seems to take a couple years for maturity to speed up growth.

Tank looks great! I often wonder what tbe reason is. Maybe its lack of phytoplankton and associated predators like pods for the corals to capture.

 

[Montiman]

One thing I noticed in my last tank is that growth begats growth. Some of this is because growth can be exponential rather than linier as single polyps turn into colonies.
I think another component is the effect corals have on pH. My pH always goes up as the tank grows. I believe this is because CO2 remains constant but the amount of kalk I can dose increases as the corals grow. Also coral photosynthesis removes more CO2. This results in a pH boost that also results in faster calcification.